Tag Archives: Selena Gomez

The American Psycow at Brewdog Glasgow. I believe the youth vernacular is nom nom.

I seem to be following a pattern here. The more things I have to write about for this diary, the less time I have to get things down on paper, or whatever we call the electronic version of paper. Yesterday was a another great day in Glasgow, and the most fun I’ve had all week at the festival.

It started with a screening of The Thieves, one of the highest-grossing South Korean movies of all time, and my favourite film so far this week. It’s a very polished heist movie in the style of Ocean’s Eleven. Maybe even Pacific Ocean’s Eleven? Hello, is this thing on?

The film focuses on a Korean gang of thieves led by a guy called Popeye, and including characters who go by the name of Chewing Gum and Peppsee. Nice. After a close call with the police following their latest crime (which cold-opens the film in the style of Mission Impossible, with just the right blend of humour and action), they decamp to China to steal a $30 million diamond from a casino. To complicate matters, the job is being put together by Macao Park, a notorious thief who double-crossed Popeye during a job five years earlier.

The film manages to keep momentum all the way through its 135 minute runtime, largely helped by a complex plot of twists and double/triple-crossings, and some of the finest action and stunt-work since John Woo’s early Hong Kong work. It also boasts brilliantly written female characters, the kind you almost never see in a Hollywood action movie. This is one of the few films that will be tempting me to break my new DVD embargo when I can finally get my hands on it.

I was joined at that screening by Dave McFarlane from Born Offside and Paul Fisher from The Write Club, and afterwards we retired to Brewdog Glasgow to record the bulk of our GFF Special Failed Critics Podcast. I’ve already raved enough about the beer and food at Brewdog, so today I’ve gone for the ‘picture says a thousand words’ approach with a photo of my beautiful burger.

The meeting was great fun, and my first experience of recording Failed Critics in the same room as the contributors. I just wish we could do it like this every week! We reviewed The Thieves (which we all loved), as well as Breakfast with Curtis, and the new documentary Men at Lunch. Our Triple Bill of favourite films set in Scotland contained some real surprises, and not a single soul picked Braveheart! You’ll be able to hear the fruits of our labour next week.

Finally, Dave and I made our way to the GFT for the festival’s Surprise Film. Weeks of rumour and speculation were over, and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers was announced to volleys of beach balls filling the auditorium. I think GFF really deserve some credit for securing this hotly anticipated film, I just wish I had enjoyed it more. Or even a little.

Spring Breakers is about four college girls who dream of going to Spring Break, and end up robbing a diner to pay for their dream holiday. While there, they get into more trouble with the police and are bailed out by a drug deal slash rapper played by an unrecognisable James Franco (literally unrecognisable – I didn’t know it was him until I checked IMDB a few minutes ago). Things inevitably get worse, the film climaxes in dream-like chaos. It’s certainly a brave film, especially in the casting of teen stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. I just didn’t get it. The loud music, the nudity, and the violence all felt like a film made by and for teenagers. While not as loathsome as Project X, its constant bombardment of the audience with shocking images and crazed party goers still felt more aspirational than foreboding.

It didn’t help that at points the audience were laughing at the film, rather than with it, especially during a surreal section where Franco’s drug dealer starts playing Britney Spear’s ‘Everytime’ at his piano by the pool. A scene with him showing the girls around his apartment would have been a lot funnier if I hadn’t already seen it done better by Krazee-Eyez Killa in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Despite all this, it’s certainly a unique film, and unlike anything else I’ve seen this week.

Pick of the Day for Thursday 21st February – Whisky Galore!

One of the finest Ealing comedies, and a contender for my Scotland Triple Bill in yesterday’s podcast recording, Whisky Galore!’s tale of shipwrecks and treasure troves of whiskey would be a great pick in any circumstances, but the opportunity to see it on Glasgow’s The Tall Ship is surely too good an opportunity to turn down (especially as today’s screening of The Thieves is already sold out!).